The Le Mars Community boys basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to conclude their season dropping 63-59 overtime decision to Sioux Center on Monday night.
The Bulldogs fell behind early and had to claw their way back throughout the remainder of regulation. They were able to do that with some toughness and grit that had to show out in the form of strong defense and hustle. Head coach Cody Dyhrkopp says that is something he has never doubted from his team.
Le Mars was down by as much as 12 points throughout the game, but they still found a way to work their way back into the game. Le Mars trailed by six going into the fourth quarter and tied the game up late with a Tycen Augustine three-point make. Coach Dyhrkopp says it took some encouragement, but the guys played hard to fight their way back in the second half.
In the overtime period, Le Mars took the first lead, but the Warriors had the answer. Sioux Center ran their lead to seven points late in overtime, but Le Mars did not give up. The Bulldogs clawed the game back to two points with 10 seconds left in the overtime. Coach Dyhrkopp says he knows his team will never give a game up until it’s over.
Le Mars will be graduating a sizable senior class of seven players off this year’s team that finishes at 9-14. Coach Dyhrkopp says this group reminded everyone what being a Le Mars basketball player truly means.
Jack Wells had 24 points to lead Le Mars in the loss. Sioux Center advances to the substate semifinal round to take on MOC-Floyd Valley on Thursday at 7:00 PM.
